Description:

Great free climbing as well as aiding. Another classic El Cap route, ascending left of the North America Wall, and out on the face left of the corner of the Black Dihedral. When Jim Bridwell and friends put up this route in 1975, it was widely recognized as the most difficult rock climb in the world. Billy Westbay wrote, "Our team is a flotilla made up of a battleship, Jim Bridwell; a heavy cruiser, myself; and two cargo ships, Jay Fiske and Fred East." It was stormy sailing indeed as the crew battled high seas and hard aid every foot of the way. Nowadays you'll cruise calmer waters to find a more mellow moderate route, but still with plenty of challenging nailing, heading and hooking to keep you in your topsteps. Don't miss the bivis on the Continental Shelf (you can actually unrope here and sit down in the slot) and the Island in the Sky. Ammon and Ivo just sent this route in 33 hours. It was proud!

SS->PO

Did this with S. Seas start, I thought the upper PO was as serious, but less strenous then SS start. Some old bolts up high, and some spicy but safe expando cracks (we fell out of most of them), didn't find there to be many bad heads on the route, we placed two. The Alutian Chain pitch is pretty nerve racking, luckily my partner wanted it...but belaying under that flake is even more scary! Gotta hand it to Bridwell, sic line!

Didn't know what I was getting into..

Before a great aid climbin' English Chap convinced me to get on this route, I'd aided or cleaned no more than 12 pitches of aid in my whole life. I had no idea that I was getting into an 8 day epic ascent, my first of El Cap. I not only got my ass handed to me, but learned a heap about aid and wall climbing along the way. I told myself and my partner (as well as everyone in El Cap Meadow) during several rants that I'd never aid climb again. Of course after topping out, I changed my mind and was already thinking about what wall route I wanted to get on next. While there are several big fall potentials on this route, it's so freakin' steep that you are really looking at hitting anything other than big air. If you like aid climbing, have at it; a very worthwhile route.